- Be consistent in the use of fonts.
A different font for every headline or for every sidebar is confusing and can give your design a cluttered look. You can usually get away with more fonts in longer documents with many different design elements where only two to three different fonts appear on any one page spread.
- Use contrasting fonts for body text and headlines.
Select one font for body copy and another for headlines. Use bold, italics, and different sizes of those fonts for captions, subheadings, decks, and other design elements. Depending on the design you might use a third font for initial caps, pull-quotes, or other selected items. You might add a fourth font for page numbers or as a secondary body font for sidebars, but usually two or three are sufficient. Use fonts with enough contrast that it is obvious they are different. Mixing two very similar fonts can create an uncomfortable vibration.
“Don’t use more than four fonts in any one publication.
As a general rule, when designing a publication I never use more than four fonts. Realistically, how many do you need? For a newsletter layout, you could use one font for headings, one for body text (which could also be used in italics or bold for captions) and one for subheadings. You may not even need that fourth one.”
— Stuart Gardoll’s Desktop Publishing Do’s and Don’ts
It is also wise to not make sudden typeface changes within a paragraph. Use the same typeface for body copy, using only bold or italics to add small amounts of emphasis, if necessary. If greater emphasis is required — create a pull-quote, set that copy in the margin, or create a sidebar using a different font to really set the information apart.
Comparisons and the Bottomline on the Best Number of Fonts to Use
